Julius felt his stomach drop like a stone.
That voice, sharp, icy, and way too familiar, cut right through the noisy training hall.
He turned slowly. There she was.
Rosalina stood just a few steps behind him, arms crossed, looking calm on the outside.
But her eyebrows were twitching like crazy, her eyes had that dangerous sparkle.
The kind that said: "You are in so much trouble."
"Oh my," Rosalina said sweetly, tilting her head.
"I didn’t know you had a fiancée already, Julius."
Gulp.
Julius swallowed so hard it hurt. He took one tiny step back.
’Oh crap, oh crap, oh crap,’ his brain scread. ’I ssed up big ti.’
He forced a shaky smile. "Rose, wait, it’s not what you think! Really!"
Rosalina lifted one hand, palm out, stopping him mid-sentence.
"It looks like you were having lots of fun," she said, voice still calm but dripping with frost.
"Sorry I interrupted. My mistake."
She turned on her heel and started walking away.
Julius’s heart basically fell out of his chest.
’No no no no—’
He had just barely convinced her to go on a date with him. One tiny misunderstanding and poof, gone. Ruined. Done.
"Wait! Rose, please!" He hurried after her, face pale as paper. "Listen to ! I’m not that kind of guy!"
Rosalina didn’t even slow down.
Julius kept talking fast, almost tripping over his own feet.
"I may not be good by nature, okay? But when it cos to character, I’m way better than anyone else here! I swear!"
And he ant it.
Ever since he t Rosalina, no other girl even existed in his head.
Not one glance. Not one thought. He was completely hooked on her, and proud of it.
Even the "hero" of the novel had a giant harem, but Julius? Nah. Rose was all he wanted.
Rosalina finally stopped. She let out a loud snort.
"Did you forget we’re supposed to be enemies?" she said without turning around.
Then she started walking again, faster this ti.
But while she walked, she secretly sent a transmission straight into Seraphina’s mind.
[Seraphina, right?]
Seraphina, who had been watching the whole drama with wide eyes, answered quickly in her head.
She sounded calm, but there was a tiny bit of sadness in her voice.
[Yes.]
Rosalina’s next words ca through cold and clear, like a blade.
[He is mine. So stay away from him. And whoever sent you here? Once I’m finished dealing with my ss, I will have a nice long talk with them. Keep your distance from what belongs to .]
Seraphina let out a soft sigh inside her mind.
[I’m really sorry, Lady Rosalina. I didn’t know you two were... together.]
Rosalina didn’t reply.
She just kept walking toward the edge of the training grounds, black sparks flickering faintly around her fingertips.
Julius, still chasing her, had no idea about the secret mind conversation.
He just knew one thing: if he didn’t fix this right now, he might never get another chance with his Rose.
"Rose! Co on!" he called, voice cracking a little. "At least let explain properly! Please?"
’What explanation?’ she shouted at herself in her mind, fists clenched so tight her nails dug into her palms.
’First you show up with that little girl hanging on you, calling you "Papa this, Papa that" like it’s normal!’
’Then the angel straight-up says a guy your age can’t have a kid who’s already four or five years old.’
’I thought about it... and yeah, it makes sense. But then you go all soft and sweet with her, smiling, talking gently, like she’s the most precious thing in the world.’
’And ? Where do I fit in all this? Do you really expect to believe you’re innocent?’
’Damn you, Julius.’
’If I wasn’t born to that wrinkled old fart of a father, I would have dragged you behind the arena and beaten the crap out of you already.’
’I’d make you regret ever looking at another girl.’
She wanted to scream it all out loud.
She wanted to spin around, grab him by the collar, and zap him with just enough black lightning to make his hair stand up for a week.
But she couldn’t.
Not here. Not now.
Not with hundreds of students watching, not with her stupid "enemies" cover to keep up, not with her position in the succession race hanging by a thread.
One wrong move and her father would hear about it.
One rumor and she’d be kicked out of the family line forever.
So she kept walking. Fast. Angry. Miserable.
’And now I’ve threatened that blonde girl too,’ she thought bitterly.
’Seraphina’s probably shaking in her shoes. Great. Now I have to fix that ss before she runs crying to soone and spills everything. My life is so pathetic right now.’
She finally slowed down near a shadowed corner of the wall, away from the main crowd.
Julius caught up, breathing hard.
"Rose... please," he said softly. "Just hear out. Five minutes. That’s all I’m asking."
Rosalina stood there with her back still to him, arms crossed tight. Her mind was racing.
’If I stop now and walk away... do I even have the right to ask him anything?’ she thought.
’What excuse would I give if soone saw us talking like this? "Oh, just enemies chatting about murder plans"? Yeah, right.’
She bit her lip. Hard.
anwhile, Julius finally let out a huge sigh of relief. He thought she was at least listening.
"It’s not , Rose! I swear!" he said quickly, words tumbling out.
"My mom sent Seraphina here to ’help’ with studies or whatever. Mom has no clue I’m already... you know... booked."
"Totally taken. I’ll talk to her the second I get ho and explain about you. Promise."
He stepped a little closer, voice dropping.
"I know our families hate each other. The Hayes clan and your side have been at each other’s throats forever."
’But I’m their only son. Once I convince Mom, Dad won’t say a word. He’s not like those other clan heads with ten wives."
"He’s only ever loved one woman, my mom, and honestly? He’s a little scared of her too. So yeah... Mom says yes, and it’s done. No one else gets a vote."
He grinned a tiny bit, trying to lighten things.
"And if the clan elders try to make trouble? Pfft. Let them. I don’t care."
"If they push too hard, I’ll remind them exactly who they’re dealing with. One quick... demonstration... and they’ll shut up forever."
He took a deep breath, feeling lighter now that he’d said it all.
Rosalina stayed quiet for a long mont.
Then she slowly turned halfway, still not fully facing him.
She cleared her throat. "Ahem..."
"Well," she said, trying to sound cold and unbothered,
"I don’t really care what you do. Go ahead. Live your life. We’re enemies anyway. One day we’ll probably try to kill each other. That’s how it is."
But even as she said it, a warm wave of relief washed over her chest.
Her shoulders relaxed just a tiny bit.
Julius shook his head fast. "I would never, Rose. Never. If anyone ever tried to make hurt you, even a little, I will kill them first, including their family."
He rembered that awful mont back in his old life, sitting in front of his computer screen, reading the Chapter where she died.
His heart had shattered. No way. No way in hell would he ever let that happen.
Rosalina let out a small huff, almost a laugh.
"You’ve beco a total simp, Julius," she said. But her voice wasn’t sharp anymore.
There was a soft, hidden warmth in it.
She paused, then added, "But... I ca over here for a reason. Not just to yell at you about the blonde girl."
Julius perked up instantly. "What is it? Anything, Rose. Just say the word. I’ll do it."
Rosalina took a deep breath.
She looked down at her boots for a second, cheeks turning the tiniest bit pink.
"I’ve... always liked cute things," she said quietly.
"Since I was little. Really cute things. And most of all... kids around four or five years old. They’re just... so small and squishy and innocent."
She struggled for the next words, fiddling with the edge of her sleeve.
"I saw her today. That little girl. In the carriage with you when I was walking in."
She finally looked up at him, eyes big and strangely shy for soone so scary.
"Can I... et her?"
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